Combined container and dispenser



June 4, 1963 H. N. HOLCOMBE 3,092,294

COMBINED CONTAINER AND DISPENSER Filed Sept. 20, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Harold M Holcaminz BY QS M ATTORNEY June 4, 1963 H. N. HOLCOMBE 3,092,294

COMBINED CONTAINER AND DISPENSER Filed Sept. 20, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VENTOR Harold M fi olcombe,

BY 91 \l ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,092,294 COMBINED CONTAINER AND DISPENSER Harold N. Holcombe, York, Pa., assignor to The Mead Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Sept. 20, 1960, Ser. No. 57,222 4 Claims. (Cl. 225-47) This invention relates to a wire cloth dispensing container and more particularly to a container formed of a single folded blank of cardboard or like material, which is adapted to enclose a roll of mesh screen or other flexible sheet material and serves as a dispensing holder therefor. Moreover, the container of this invention is provided with a pair of roll-supporting flanged hub elements press-fitted in holes in the inner flaps of the flaps forming the container ends, thus eliminating the need for a central board tube required by conventional dispensers of this type. And optionally, such container is provided with a web cutter attachment.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a com bined shipping container and dispenser for rolls of web material, which container is economically fabricated basically of a single blank of die-cut cardboard folded to form a self-rigidifying carton of parallelepiped shape and having a pair of cup-shaped hub elements fixed to the end walls thereof for supporting the roll of material without the need of a supporting cylinder therein.

It is another object to provide such a container in which the assembled blank economically has its parts held in erected and closed conditions by the use of adhesive tapes and friction fits thus eliminating costly gluing or cementing operations.

It is a further object to provide an article of this type having an optionally included web-cutting accessory that fits within the container for shipping and that is designed to be locked in extended position by the container closure so that there is always exposed an easily grasped portion of a Web after severance of a withdrawn length of webbing.

Other and further objects of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the following specification taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention, showing the container closed and sealed for shipment or storage;

FIGURE 2. is an exploded perspective view thereof showing the device opened and the cutter member removed from its stored position wholly within the container;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the device showing the cutter member locked in use position by the closed side panel;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged longitudinally compressed perspective view of the device in vertical axial section (on line 4-4 of FIGURE 1);

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged longitudinally compressed plan view of the disclosure of FIGURE 3 in section taken on the line 55 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of the container blank prior to folding and assembly;

FIGURE 7 is a plan view of the cutter member prior to folding into packaging shape; and,

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the folding operations for fabricating the container.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 11 generally designates the dispenser container of this invention. Container 11 is formed basically from a die-cut blank 13 of corrugated cardboard or equivalent sheet material. Blank 13 is scored to define top and bottom panels 15 and 16, and front and back panels 17 and 18, respectively, all of rectangular shape, and overlapping end panels or flaps 19-26. Flaps 19-24 are substantially square and are overlapped to form three-ply ends for the container as best shown in FIGURE 8. For best appearance, the flaps 19 and 20, attached to the ends of the top panel, are folded into place last so that the adhesive tape covered seams 27 and 28 will lie along the bottom end edges rather than along the top end edges.

The flaps 21 and 22 are folded inwardly, providing structural strength and are centrally apertured to snugly receive the cylindrical portions of the die-formed sheetmetal or molded-plastic cups 29 and 30, that are pressfitted and frictionally retained therein. Cups 29 and 30 have integral radially extending stop flanges 29 and 30 which extend outwardly between the contiguous flaps 21 and 23, and 22 and 24-, respectively, to anchor said cups against displacement from their assembled positions of FIGURES 4 and 5. The cylindrical portions of cups 29 and 30 extend into the open ends of the roll R, for example, of mesh screen to rotatably support the same for low friction unrolling thereof and without requiring that the roll R be supported on a cylindrical core or board tube required by conventional dispensers for roll material.

The inturned end fiaps 25 and 26 are notched at 2511 and 26n to straddle the cups 29 and 30 (FIGURE 5). A third piece of adhesive tape 31 securely holds the front or closure panel 17 in the package-sealing position of FIG- URE 1, but is relatively easily peeled off for opening the package.

The desirable but optionally included web-cutting accessory comprises a die-cut blank 33 made of any suitable sheet material, such as that of which blank 13 is formed. Blank 33 has a central rectangular portion 34 to which the serrated edge cutter strip 35 is cemented or otherwise fixed as shown. Strip 35 may be made of metal or hard plastic material, etc. Blank 33 has integrally attached end panels 37 and 38 which are bent downwardly along the score lines 39 and 40 to constitute supporting and assembling webs for the cutter attachment.

Blank 33 also has another rectangular panel 41 joined to the base panel 34 along the scored fold line 43. Panels 34 and 41 are left coplanar for storing of the cutter attachment in the container for shipping (FIGURE 4), but panel 41 is folded down to engage the front face of the roll R when the structures are reassembled as a cutterdispenser (FIGURES 3 and 5).

By engaging the front face of roll R the downturned panel 41 prevents the cutter from being pushed back into the container 11. The closed front container panel 17 tightly engages under the cutter attachment 33 to prevent its outward displacement from its assembled position of FIGURE 3, in which it leaves exposed for easy grasping a transverse edge strip S after the serrated edge of the cutter blade 35 has severed the pulled-out piece of material P.

While the end panels 37 and 38 are herein shown as inserted between the middle and inner flaps defining the container end walls, it is apparent that they could, if pre ferred, be inserted between the middle and outer flaps. It should also be noted that the overlapping contiguous faces of the container flaps not defining the cutter-endsreceiving sockets, could be glued or cemented together for greater container strength and rigidity, if the extra trouble and expense involved were considered to be justified.

While the product herein described is for the purpose of limitation only, it is to be understood that the present invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the invention which is defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A combined container and dispenser for rolled web material, comprising a container of substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and substantially square in transverse. cross-section, said container being formed from a die cut blank of relatively stiff sheet material but readily bendable along scored lines dividing said blank into edgejoined container-wall-defining panels, three of said panels defining the large area top, rear and bottom walls of the container proper and a fourth panel integrally and hingedly connected edgewise to the bottom wall panel and defining a movable front closure for said container, all of said three panels having substantially square single end flaps bendable along scored lines into overlapping contiguity to define multiple ply end walls for said container,

the flaps of the top panel being the outermost ply of each end wall, strips of adhesive tape fixedly joimng portions of the free marginal edges of said outermost flaps to the adjacent ends of said bottom wall panel for rigidly holding said three panels in container defining inter-relations, the inner flaps of said end flaps having centrally disposed apertures, and hub members fitted in and held by said apertures in positions to enter the axially open ends of a roll of webbing to rotatably support the same without requiring a coaxial roll-supporting spindle within said ,roll, the inner hub-supporting flaps each being directly attached to the central one of said three panels for greater .a die cut blank of relatively stiti sheet material readily bendable along scored fold lines dividing said blank into edge-joined container-wall-defining panels, three of said panels defining the interconnected large area top, rear and bottomwalls of the container proper and a fourth panel integrally and hingedly connected edgewise to one of said three panels and defining a movable closure for said container, at least two of said three panels having substan tially square end flaps bendable along scored fold lines into overlapping contiguity to define multiple ply' end walls for said container, means fixedly joining portions of the free marginal edges of at least one of said end-walldefining flaps to adjacent blank portions for rigidly holding said three panels in container defining inter-relations, the inner flaps of said end flaps having centrally disposed apertures, hub members fitted in and held by said apertures in positions to enter the axially open ends of a roll of webbing to rotatably support the same without requiring a coaxial roll-supporting spindle within said roll, and a cutter attachment formed basically of a die cut blank of stiff sheet material having a central panel of a size and shape approximating that of one of said container panels and score-line joined end flaps of a size and shape approximating that of one of said container-end-defining flaps,

whereby when bent at right angles to said central attach- I ment panel the former can be insertedinto spaces between certain of said container end flaps for storing of said attachment within said container during shipping and storage, said central panel having a longitudinally medially disposed score line and I end notches whereby the rear portion of said central panel can be bent to engage against said roll of material to prevent said cutter attachment from being forced back into storage position after the container is set up for dispensing, and where-by when the closure panel is closed the same engages the face of the angularlysbent portion of said central portion to lock said attachment against inadvertent withdrawal from said container, the protrusion of said attachment being sufiicient to provide an easily grasped protruding roll of margin on the web material after the severanceof a piece pulled outwardly beyond the front or cutting edge of said central panel.

4. Structure according to claim 3, wherein said cutting s edge is further defined by a strip of relatively hard material fixed to and along the ,front edge of said central panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A CONBINED CONTAINER AND DISPENSER FOR ROLLED WEB MATERIAL, COMPRISING A CONTAINER OF SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR PARALLELEPIPED SHAPE AND SUBSTANTIALLY SQUARE IN TRANSVERSE CROSS-SECTION, SAID CONTAINER BEING FROMED FROM A DIE CUT BLANK OF RELATIVELY STIFF SHEET MATERIAL BUT READILY BENDABLE ALONG SCORED LINES DIVIDING SAID BLANK INTO EDGEJOINED CONTAINER-WALL-DEFINING PANELS, THREE OF SAID PANELS DEFINING THE LARGE AREA TOP, REAR AND BOTTOM WALLS OF THE CONTAINER PROPER AND A FOURTH PANEL INTEGRALLY AND HINGEDLY CONNECTED EDGEWISE TO THE BOTTOM WALL PANEL AND DEFINING A MOVABLE FRONT CLOSURE FOR SAID CONTAINER, ALL OF SAID THREE PANELS HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY SQUARE SINGLE END FLAPS BENDABLE ALONG SCORED LINES INTO OVERLAPPING CONTIGUITY TO DEFINE MULTIPLE PLY END WALLS FOR SAID CONTAINER, 